Senator Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) reacted to Governor Gavin Newsom’s “six steps road map to recovery” by asking the state to adopt the National Standards for re-opening the economy in Northern California counties that have few to no cases of COVID-19.
“I support the federal government’s plan to get the economy up and running again,” said Senator Dahle. “The Governor’s plan needs to be accelerated for rural communities where the impact is not proportional to the number of reported infections.”
“The White House strategy outlined a three-phase approach to gradually bring back schools, restaurants, and theaters in certain areas based on scientific evidence, the virus is waning. I want to emphasize what Vice President Mike Pence said - the guidelines can be implemented statewide or by county. I support local Boards of Supervisors, County Directors of Health, and elected Sheriffs having the authority to lift restrictions on commerce when communities meet the criteria, like having few to no COVID-19 infections,” Dahle continued. “This economic shutdown also has dangerous health consequences in its own right by denying people regular medical exams like mammograms and elective surgeries that could have long-term if not deadly effects. Not to mention, denying people their freedoms and the ability to provide for their families, which makes ending this lockdown as soon as possible imperative. The timeline for Los Angeles is not our timeline.”
The Federal guidelines can be found at https://www.whitehouse.gov/ope
Guidelines for Opening Up America Again are:
- Based on Up-To-Date Data
- Mitigate Risk of Resurgence
- Protect The Most Vulnerable
- Implementable Statewide Or County-By-County Basis at Governors' Discretion
“Governor Newsom should ensure the state framework for reopening parts of the economy reflect the very different situations in Sacramento County and Modoc County, which are both in my Senate district. I represent 11 counties; they should be allowed to consider re-opening based on the Federal Guidelines and local jurisdictional control. The state government needs every small business that can safely open to boost the economy; we cannot base our government finances going forward on federal ‘stimulus.’ Independent businesses will have to be the foundation of a sound and sustainable economic policy,” Dahle concluded.
Alpine, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Sierra, and Siskiyou have each had less than five confirmed cases of COVID-19. Sacramento has had 924, Nevada 34, Placer 132, Shasta 26, and El Dorado 36 as of April 20th.